Free tool

LinkedIn Hook Analyzer

Score the first 1–2 lines of your post for fold fit, curiosity, specificity, clarity, and line-1 punch. Instant, free, no sign-up.

LinkedIn cuts the feed at ~210 characters.0 / 210

Your hook score will appear here

Paste a hook on the left to see fold fit, specificity, curiosity, clarity, and line-1 punch — scored instantly.

What makes a great LinkedIn hook

On LinkedIn, the first line of a post is the entire ad for the rest of it. The feed truncates around 210 characters, so the hook has one job: earn the click on “see more”. Posts with strong hooks routinely get 5–10× the impressions of posts with weak ones — same author, same audience, same topic.

The five things this tool checks

  • Fold fit. Your hook has to land inside the ~210-character pre-fold window. Anything past that is invisible until someone expands the post.
  • Line 1 punch. Short opening lines (under 12 words) outperform long ones on mobile. Ending line 1 without a period — using a colon, ellipsis, question mark, or just a line break — signals that more is coming.
  • Specificity. Concrete numbers, named timeframes, and dollar amounts beat abstractions. “47 inbound leads in 30 days” outperforms “a lot of leads recently.”
  • Curiosity. Hooks that open a loop (“I almost quit…”), use intrigue words (mistake, secret, nobody), or pose a sharp question pull readers down the page.
  • Clarity. Bloggy intros (“In this post…”, “Today I want to share…”), corporate jargon (synergy, leverage, ecosystem), and generic motivation (“believe in yourself”) all signal filler and lose the reader.

Common mistakes the analyzer catches

  • Opening with “In this post I want to talk about…” instead of getting to the insight.
  • Burying the hook on line 3 because line 1 is throat-clearing.
  • Writing 250+ character hooks that get truncated mid-sentence.
  • Using vague words (“things”, “people”, “everyone”) where a specific number or name would land harder.
  • Ending line 1 with a period — closing the loop before the reader has even started.

How to use the score

Aim for 70+ before you publish. If you're below that, the breakdown tells you exactly which lever to pull — usually it's one of: trim the hook to fit the fold, swap a vague word for a concrete one, or rewrite line 1 to be shorter and end without a period. Use the hook formulas in the tool above as starting points if you're stuck.

Frequently asked questions

What is a LinkedIn hook?
The hook is the first one or two lines of your LinkedIn post — everything visible in the feed before the “see more” link. LinkedIn truncates posts at roughly 210 characters on desktop, so this small window decides whether someone expands your post or scrolls past.
How is the hook score calculated?
The score is a weighted average of five dimensions: fold fit (does it land inside the ~210-character cutoff), line 1 punch (length, ending punctuation), specificity (numbers, timeframes, concrete details), curiosity (open loops, intrigue words, questions), and clarity (no jargon, no bloggy intros). Each dimension is scored 0–10 and weighted by impact on engagement.
Why does line 1 matter so much?
On mobile, line 1 is often all a reader sees before deciding whether to keep reading. Hooks that read in a single glance — typically under 12 words — outperform longer openings. Ending line 1 without a period (using a colon, ellipsis, question mark, or just a line break) signals continuation and lifts the chance of expansion.
Why does the analyzer flag certain words?
Corporate jargon (synergy, leverage, ecosystem), vague filler (things, stuff, people, everyone), generic motivation (believe in yourself, dream big), and bloggy openers (“In this post…”, “Today I want to share…”) all reduce trust and engagement on LinkedIn. The tool surfaces them so you can swap them for specific, human language.
Is the tool actually free? Do I need to sign up?
Yes, it's completely free with no sign-up. Scoring runs in your browser — no data leaves your device, and there are no rate limits or paywalls.
What's the difference between a hook and a headline?
A LinkedIn headline is the role/positioning text under your name on your profile. A hook is the opening line of an individual post. Both matter for visibility, but they serve different jobs: the headline shapes who follows you, the hook decides who reads each post.

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